To kick off my birthday celebrations, we stayed at Disneyland Paris’ Sequoia Lodge for 3 nights while visiting Paris, and it was lovely. Surrounded by lush greenery, the lodge was tucked away in a quiet spot a brisk walk away from Disney Village and both parks. Staying this close really allowed us to take advantage of our time at Disneyland, and visit as many attractions as we could, while still being able to visit Paris every day (city center is only a 40 minute train ride away).

On our first day, armed with VIP Fast Passes (free if you stay at a Disney hotel), we made a dash for the Tower of Terror, before jumping on the Rock’n’Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith, Space Mountain: Mission 2, Big Thunder Mountain, and Indiana Jones™ and the Temple of Peril. After getting our thrills, we ran around the Alice in Wonderland labyrinth (so fun!), explored Agrabah, and just wandered around Main Street, USA, devouring ice-cream and feeling like kids again.

At night, we watched Disney Dreams! show, complete with fireworks, water fountains, fire, lasers, lights, and some of my fave Disney characters and songs, alongside hundreds of other visitors from all over the world. It was magical.

I couldn’t have asked for a better place to spend a few days in Paris – we had a wonderful stay at Disneyland Paris, and I am now determined to visit every single Disney property in the world. I still haven’t been to the ones in Orlando, Tokyo, Hawaii, Hong Kong…2 down, 4 more to go!

First of all, I apologize for the million photos in this post. Most of them feature my love affair with the Eiffel Tower from various angles and I just couldn’t narrow them down. Sorry (not sorry). With that said, this is what I wore on my first day of being thirty.

While in my early twenties, thirty-somethings seemed practically ancient to my silly young self, but I am happy to report that I don’t feel different, even though I am no longer the youngest person in the room. I also didn’t suffer too much anxiety over the big 3-0…after all, I consider myself extremely lucky to have a wonderful husband, supportive family, great friends, and of course, this little blog. Growing up, I used to make those “before 30” lists, which included “swim with the dolphins” (done!), “skydive” (nope), “graduate” (yup), “get MBA” (not yet), “open an RRSP account” (check!), “visit the Amalfi Coast” (3 times), among many other cool/cliche/silly/important/unimportant tasks. And while I definitely haven’t checked off every item off those lists, I don’t feel like I let myself down because I didn’t complete them by the time I left my twenties. That just means I’ll have fun accomplishing them in my thirties.

Having said all that, entering a new decade wasn’t a daunting prospect for me. Back home, each new decade is welcomed with lots of fanfare and celebration, and so in that tradition, I also made quite a big deal about my birthday this year (according to le bf) and decided to jet off to Paris and the South of France to celebrate. And while I’ll have more travel posts coming, this is what I wore on my actual birthday.

That day, le bf and I wandered aimlessly around Paris (mostly around the Eiffel Tower, as you can see), enjoying the views, stopping in at random cafes for a drink, savouring a delightful lunch at Laduree, and a delicious dinner at Shangri-La Paris, wrapping up our night with an impressive Disney Dreams! show at Disneyland Paris. It was a sticky hot day, we walked so much, our feet were buzzing, my hair and makeup were a huge mess by the time dinner time rolled around, but we didn’t care – nothing could spoil this imperfectly perfect day. That night, I went to bed with a huge grin on my face…yes, I may be getting older, but the adventures along the way make it totally worth a wrinkle or ten. Bring it on, thirties!

WHAT I WORE

WHO IS NELIA?

Nelia Belkova is a Toronto-based fashion and lifestyle blogger by night and a financial analyst by day. She loves to travel, read gossip sites, eat sweets, and cuddle up to her husband and her cat on the couch. Read More…